At 40 years old, Lukas Podolski has won the Polish Cup for the first time. Is that it for the 2014 World Cup champion? The striker’s statements are clear, but they leave a small door open.
Lukas Podolski has been playing for Gornik Zabrze since July 2021. Now he has won his first title with the Polish club. In the cup final on Saturday evening in Warsaw, Zabrze defeated Rakow Częstochowa 2-0 in front of 50,000 spectators. The former Cologne and Bayern Munich pro came on as a substitute in the 90th minute. During his brief time on the field, he was fouled so roughly by Jonatan Braut Brunes—the cousin of striker Erling Haaland—that the Norwegian was shown a red card. Shortly after, the match ended, and the 2014 World Cup champion was able to celebrate the title with his teammates.
For the 40-year-old, is this the end of a great career—or perhaps not? “The plan is to end my career,” Podolski made clear, but then left himself a backdoor open: “Maybe there’s still a surprise in store? I’m leaving that door open. European cup competitions are always interesting.“
However, Podolski has many years of professional soccer under his belt, having begun his extraordinary career in 2003 with 1. FC Köln. ”In recent years, I’ve put a lot of energy into my work on and off the field. Sometimes my family took a back seat, and I’d like to change that a bit,” said the player who has made 210 Bundesliga appearances (70 goals).
Podolski: “That’s a wonderful feeling”
The “Kölsche Jung” was popular at every stop in his career, a true fan favorite. The fans of Gornik Zabrze would therefore surely be delighted if he were to stay on for another year. “Every trophy brings joy and fills me with pride,” said Podolski, who has already won the national cup with FC Bayern, Arsenal, Galatasaray Istanbul, and Vissel Kobe. “I’ve been lucky enough to play for great clubs in great cities throughout my life. Now I’ve won a title with Gornik, even though we started with a lot of problems. It’s a wonderful feeling and different from the triumphs in London or Istanbul.”
In addition to cup competitions, Podolski also won the German championship once, in the 2007–08 season with Bayern. However, the 1. FC Köln legend achieved the greatest success of his career in 2014, when he was crowned world champion with the German national team against Argentina.
